An example of the kind of article I write for eco-luxury beauty clients.
2008 might go down in history as the year that green fashion proved to be a sustainable trend. From the runways of fashion week to the aisles of popular chain stores like Target, eco-fashion is no longer a niche trend, but a necessary element of progressive design.
The ancient arts of yoga and meditation inspire and demand profound patience, respect towards others, and respect for oneself. Sustainable energy is fostered within the body and propelled outward, into the environment, creating a contagious state of heightened awareness. As environmentalism enters into the collective conscious, designers and retailers alike are looking to the healing arts for inspiration and guidelines as they embrace a greener lifestyle. In September of 2008, the runways of New York Fashion week were atwitter with contagious efforts to make the 10-day long event more eco-friendly. Aveda continued its quest to green New York Fashion week by launching several eco-friendly initiatives included the replacement of bottled water with New York City tap water in reusable, non-toxic Swiss water bottles, the elimination of fur, organic, locally-sourced catering and the use of post-consumer recycled paper for invitations and programs. 3.1 Phillip Lim, Rodarte and Alexander Wang were among the high-profile names to “green” their New York presence by adopting these conditions.
Just as the yoga mat offers us a sacred place to work through our internal frustrations, the runway provides a testing-ground for new trends in organic fashion. One of the rising stars of the conscious-beauty movement, New York City based-designer Behnaz Sarafpour has been on a mission to create luxurious clothing with a conscious since her debut show at the age of thirty-one. Now, seven years later, she has transformed that mission into a reality, providing eco-urbanites with feminine, wearable pieces that don’t sacrifice elegance for the environment.
Branded a “freedom fashion fighter” by her fans, designer Abi Ferrin is also creating fashion with a purpose. Through her work with the non-profit Guardian Village Handicrafts, Ferrin rescues women and children from abusive environments in Nepal and Cambodia, encouraging them to make constructive changes in their lives by providing them with a skill set and the tools to learn a new trade. Ferrin then purchases their wares for use in her bright, audacious collections that celebrate, empower and beautify the women behind her looks, and the women in them.
Even the brand names are jumping on the bandwagon of sustainability. In honor of earth day, Banana Republic unfolded an eco-fashion line of 50 summer staples in April of last year. For the duration of Earth Week, the retailer pledged 1% of all its in-store sales to the not-for-profit Trust for Public Lands. This eco-friendly initiative is part of the company’s quest to reduce their environmental impact in the coming years.
Inspired by the enthusiasm of its customers for the practice of Yoga and the parallel ease and simplicity of this ancient art, J.Crew launched a line of yoga wear for its 2008 fall collection. In an article from Women’s Wear Daily, J.Crew CEO Millard Drexler explains, “We kept hearing from our associates about yoga, hearing from our customers about yoga, and hearing from people who do yoga. We always want to be where our customers are, and where they are going. That’s our mission. Today, any retailer’s job is always looking to the road that has to be traveled.”
The road towards sustainable fashion is becoming a crowded one to travel, and only time will tell if green is truly glamorous.
